Sermon Central
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Jesus Assures Them Concerning His Coming Again Series
Contributed by John Lowe on Aug 29, 2018 (message contributor)
Summary: The false prophets and false Christs will offer great signs and wonders for evidence to back-up their claims, but they cannot offer any true miracles, because only Christ has that type of power.
-Tuesday-
Mount of Olives
Jesus Assures Them Concerning His Coming Again
Scripture: Matthew 24:23-31 (Focal Passage), Mark 13:21-27, Luke 21:25-28
Matthew 24:23-31 (Focal Passage)
23 "Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.
24 "For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
25 "See, I have told you beforehand.
26 "Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.
27 "For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28 "For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 "And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
21 "Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it.
22 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
23 "But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.
24 "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
25 "the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
26 "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27 "And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.
25 "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;
26 "men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.
27 "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."
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23 "Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.
These false Christs and false prophets have their representatives and agents busy everywhere attempting to draw people to them. Then when catastrophe threatens their nation or person, and people are catching at any thing that looks like deliverance, Satan will take advantage of the opportunity by imposing on their vulnerability. They will say, look, here is Christ, or there He is; but do not mind them. In an atmosphere of crisis, reports will circulate that the Messiah is in some secret location. Such reports could be used to trap those who sincerely and lovingly look for Christ. So the Lord warns all disciples not to believe reports of a local, secret arrival of the Savior. Even those who perform miracles are not necessarily from God; miracles can be satanic in origin. The Man of Sin will be given satanic power to perform miracles ([1] 2 Thess 2.9-10).
The true Christ did not struggle to attract people, nor did He make emotional pleas; nor was it said of him, look, here! or look, there!--"You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is among you" ([2]Lk. 17:21)--therefore if anyone claims to be Christ, look upon it as a temptation. The hermits, who consign religion to a monastical life, say, He is in the desert; the priests, who made the consecrated wafer to be Christ, say, "He is in the cupboards, in the secret chambers: lo, he is in this shrine, in that image.’’
Therefore, some say that Christ’s spiritual presence belongs only to their denomination or church, as if they had a monopoly on Christ and Christianity; and the kingdom of Christ must stand and fall, must live and die, with them; "Look, he is in this church.’’ But the truth is, Christ is All in all, not here or there, and He meets his people with a blessing in every place where people receive Him with faith.